Who are the key players? How did they do last year? Where are they strong? Where might they be weak? Key questions answered ahead of the new T20 Blast campaign
Coach: Paul Nixon
Captain: Colin Ackermann
Last season: Quarter-finals
How did they do last year?
Leicestershire were left to rue their slow start and some dodgy death-over fielding as they missed out on their first Finals Day appearance since 2011.
Finishing third in the North Group after posting four wins and three defeats from their 10 matches, Paul Nixon’s side found themselves facing eventual champions Notts Outlaws in the quarter-finals.
Leicestershire were the only side to beat Nottinghamshire in the group stage and were within touching distance of victory, with their opponents needing 17 runs from seven balls.
However, a pair of fielding fumbles from Aaron Lilley and Imad Wasim bookending some smart striking from Samit Patel enabled Nottinghamshire to tie the score off the final ball of the game.
With the scores identical on 139 for 7, the match was decided on powerplay runs: Leicestershire were 22 for 2 after six overs, Nottinghamshire 42 for 1, game over. A heart-breaking end to their white-ball season.
Harry Swindells is a talented middle-order batsmen with Leicestershire
Who are their key players?
Captain Colin Ackermann is the backbone of Leicestershire’s white-ball side. In 2020, he scored 246 runs, including two half-centuries, took eight wickets in 21 overs, and bowled with an economy of 7.14. In fact, there is no greater demonstration of his importance to the Foxes than his contribution in last season’s quarter-final defeat: 43 runs from 33 deliveries, 3 for 27 with the ball, and the catch to dismiss opener Chris Nash. Leading from the front.
Callum Parkinson is Leicestershire’s leading bowler. The 24-year-old has led the county’s wicket-taking standings in each of the past three Blast seasons and collected 10 wickets with an economy 6.56 in 2020. A talented spinner who’s bowling himself ever closer to adding a second Parkinson to the England conversation.
And finally, Leicestershire’s new signings: Josh Inglis and Naveen Ul Haq, 199th and 230th on the T20 Player Index respectively.
The former, a wicketkeeper-batsman, scored 413 runs at an average of 34.52 to help Perth Scorchers reach this season’s Big Bash final and has a career T20 strike rate of 143.44.
Twenty-one-year-old Naveen, meanwhile, is an Afghanistan international with 58 wickets in 53 T20 matches and franchise appearances in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Caribbean. Two valuable and experienced acquisitions.
What are their biggest strengths?
Leicestershire have batting depth for days. Top-order batsmen Lilley (who has a career T20 strike rate in excess of 150), Ackermann and Inglis are the experienced foundation; precocious youngsters Nick Welch, Ben Mike, Harry Swindell, and Harry Dearden the exciting new blood.
Swindell in particular showed his potential in last year’s quarter-final, scoring 58 runs from 34 balls after previously struggling with the bat.
Their spin department is also a source of envy, with the Parkinson-Ackermann axis collecting 61 wickets since the start of 2018.
Where might they have a weakness?
For the smaller counties, squad depth is always an issue. Leicestershire used just 14 players in last season’s truncated Blast but may struggle to replicate this level of selection consistency with so much cricket in 2021. One or two injuries or fatigue could prove costly.
A few question marks also surround Leicestershire’s seam attack. It improved in 2020, with Gavin Griffiths (10) and Will Davis (7) picking up wickets, but there’s a lot of pressure on Naveen – who’s never played in the Blast – to be the seam equivalent of Parkinson.
What are their chances of reaching Finals Day?
Leicestershire have only reached the knockout stages twice in five attempts but nearly derailed white-ball powerhouses Nottinghamshire in 2020 – a fluke or a sign of things to come under Nixon? Looking at their group, they should be confident of reaching the last eight. After that, it’s in the hands of the cricketing gods.
Possible XI: Nick Welch, Aaron Lilley, Colin Ackermann, Josh Inglis, Harry Dearden, Harry Swindells, Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson, Gavin Griffiths, Will Davis, Naveen Ul Haq
Fixtures: June 10 – Lancashire (a), June 11 – Derbyshire (h), June 13 – Durham (h), June 15 – Yorkshire (a), June 16 – Birmingham Bears (h), June 20 – Northamptonshire (a), June 22 – Derbyshire (a), June 25 – Yorkshire (h), June 27 – Worcestershire (a), June 29 – Northamptonshire (h), July 1 – Nottinghamshire (a), July 2 – Durham (a), July 16 – Nottinghamshire (h), July 18 – Worcestershire (h)
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